(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to synergistic antimicrobial or biocidal compositions including in admixture a metal complex of a polyfunctional organic ligand and a biocidal composition which contains or releases a lower aldehyde having 1 to 5 carbon atoms and having a broad spectrum of biocidal activity against both bacteria and fungi. In particular the present invention relates to the use of monocopper (II) disodium citrate as the complex and 1,3,5-tris substituted hexahydro-s-triazine as the biocide in such compositions.
(2) Prior Art
The prior art has described metal salts (metal ions) metal complexes of organic ligands as antimicrobial or biocidal compounds. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,055,655 to Maurer et al, 4,129,589 to Shringarpurey et al and 4,180,473 to Maurer et al particularly describe ligands. The process for the manufacture of the ligands is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,610 to Maurer et al. The problem is that these compounds are relatively poor antimicrobials in relation to both fungi and bacteria and even large amounts provide protection for only a limited period of time. They have very limited effectiveness against fungi.
Disodium monocopper (II) citrate (MCC) is particularly described as an antimicrobial compound in U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,655 to Maurer et al. Metalworking fluid (MWF) stabilizing activity is particularly described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,509 to Shringarpurey et al. This latter patent states that the compound is effective against microorganisms growing in alkaline environments (pH 8-12) due to the stability of the metal complex ligand at high pH, with dissociation into toxic copper ions occurring upon encountering the lower pH (7.0) within microbial cells. Most fungi are not significantly inhibited by MCC. Studies on MCC have shown that it can temporarily inhibit the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in laboratory media and transiently reduce the cell count in MWF contaminated with Pseudomonas spp. The use of MCC as a MWF additive is becoming more widespread and an improvement in its effectiveness was needed.
Although bacteria are highly important in the biodeterioration of MWF, fungi and yeast can play a major role as well, especially in the synthetic fluids (Bennett, E. O., "The Deterioration of Metal Working Fluids," Prog. Indust. Microbiol., 13, p 121 (1974)), (Rossmoore, H. W. and Holtzman, G. H., "Growth of Fungi in Cutting Fluids," Dev. Indust. Microbiol., 15, pp 273-280 (1974)). Fusarium and Cephalosporium are prominent fungal contaminants, and among the yeasts, Candida and Trichosporon spp. are often isolated.
Fungi and yeast are known to be sensitive to the toxic effects of Copper ion (Hugo, W. B. and Russell, A. D., "Types of Antimicrobial Agents," in: Principles and Practices of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization, Russell, A. D., W. B. Hugo, and G. A. J. Ayliffe (Eds.), Blackwell Scientific Publications, Boston, p. 69 (1982)) and consequently the effect of MCC at high pH on a representative yeast, Candida tropicalis, was studied. It was found that as a result of the machining operation itself, MWF can become contaminated with selectively large concentrations of soluble iron. The high stability constant of ferric citrate can allow exchange reactions between the ferric and copper ions in binding to the citrate ligand (Ashcroft, S. J. and Mortimer, C. T., Thermochemistry of Transition Metal Complexes, Academic Press, New York (1970)). Such reactions destroy the antimicrobial activity of MCC in alkaline environments.
There are numerous biocides which contain or release an aldehyde in situ and such biocides may not be generally recognized as functioning by releasing an aldehyde. Usually an aldehyde is used in the preparation of these biocides. A simple test for the presence of an aldehyde in situ is hydrolysis and then dimethone reaction which forms a precipitate with the aldehyde (Pasto, D. J. and C. R. Johnson, Organic Structure Determination, Prentice Hall, Inc. New Jersey (1969)). Usually these biocides do not show broad spectrum activity against fungi and bacteria.